Randwick Council institutes single-use plastic ban

A recent meeting of the Randwick Council voted unanimously to ban single-use plastic items.

As of July 1, plastic bags, drink bottles and drinking straws are among the items to have been taken out of use. Awareness campaigns for new council by-laws are often communicated through brochure printing and flyer printing campaigns.

The change in Randwick Council policy is in line with a wider movement to recognise and limit the environmental damage caused by plastic litter. Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths recently caused something of a nationwide tumult when single-use plastic bags were removed from their chains of stores, despite six months of announcements prior to the change.

Randwick Council Mayor Lindsay Shurey remains adamant, however, that limits on plastic waste need to be taken further. She said:

“[Randwick Council] is making a statement that we all need to reduce our reliance on single-use plastics.”

Starting January 1, 2019, organisers of Randwick council-supported events must also cull the use of single-use plastics. Additionally, the Council is to develop a program to encourage local businesses and community groups to limit their reliance on disposable plastics.

Australia consumed about 3.5 million tonnes of single-use plastics in the last financial year, only around 12% of which was recycled. The recent BBC series Blue Planet graphically highlighted the damage plastic waste is causing to marine environments around the world.